Christmas Newsletter 2017

Dear FriendsAs Christmas comes and another year draws to a close we look back over a very eventful year. So many times we are asked, Sister what do you do all day? There are times when if we wrote it all down, no one would believe it. Coming up to Christmas last year we were preparing to welcome Sr Marie from Firhouse Carmel to our Community. She joined us for Christmas but as the sale of the Monastery had fallen through a month earlier she had to return and await a new buyer. We happily welcomed both Sr Marie and Sr Breda (who in the months of waiting had made the wise decision to join us here) on 24th August. So many people who have had a long connection with the Community over 190 years have been saddened by the closure but unfortunately due to the lack of vocations it was inevitable. Our Sisters come with all the wisdom of a long life in Carmel and beyond. Sr Breda comes with her missionary experience in Australia – she was a Nazareth Sister in a former life and Sr Marie has spent all her missionary life in Firhouse (60 years), praying for the local community and those further afield. Although they have moved they haven’t gone too far and their friends will not have far to come. While they gradually recover from the trauma of leaving their beloved Firhouse we hear them continually praising God for His abundant love and care for them in their new home. Some of the Firhouse furniture came too so the Chapel, parlours and community room have had a new look and is a link with their roots.Read More